GroupShare, Counsel Review

A common thread we try to incorporate into the fabric of a professional website is the notion of a skill set; you can present it with your educational, employment, and interest sections and it can be searched through by internal and external sources. In a previous blog, Skill Set Approach, I suggest a progression of establishing your skill set in four stages: planning, building and cultivating, presenting and validating. With Counsel Review, you can invite someone from you support channel to provide insight regarding the planning stage of establishing your skill set.

Like the other GroupShare functions, you can invite anyone to the Counsel Review interface where they login and provide guidance. They can make a general comment or synopsis – an open-ended statement about career objectives, advise what skills you should consider having as part of your skill set, and suggest what actions you can take to gain experience in these skills.

Your reviewer can choose skills from a standardized list commonly accepted in the industry – such as project management, business analysis, or database design – and/or add ones not found in the list. The idea is to suggest skills that you are competent in and are in-synch with your career goals.Many degrees are too broad and do not necessarily cover your core-competencies. For example, I remember in business school where we were all working towards the same degree, some of my classmates excelled at presentational speaking, professional writing, or statistical analysis – all very different skills. It seems logical to identify your skill set precisely. Moreover, it can easily be searched upon by potential employers.

Suggested courses of action to achieve a desired skill set might be: achieving an assessment or certification, taking a course, seeking employment or an internship, or participating in some event or hobby. Obviously the suggestions would relate to what point you are in your career. For example, if you are still in college, your suggestions would involve what courses you are taking and perhaps applying to an internship.

The first question that comes to my mind is: How does this reviewer know enough about me to make these career suggestions?

Well, you can choose to invite whoever you want to, so you may choose someone that already knows you well enough.

In the email invitation, there is a link to your professional website that can be reviewed to get a basic understanding of your professional background. You may want to send an accompanying email with more context.

Finally, perhaps you meet in person with a counselor and then follow up with a Counsel Review invitation.

Once the Counsel Review is saved by the reviewer, it can be accessed in the administrative interface of your professional website and you can keep it for as long as you need to.